We had intended to ride the City bus to Ixtapa and spend a day at the beach. Just to keep things interesting, though, Peter and I decided to treat Carol to a boat ride.

We pulled anchor just after breakfast and set out for Isla Grande, 10 miles away.

Isle Grande is a small island just off the shore of Ixtapa. A continuous parade of pongas pick up tourists from the Ixtapa resorts, including Club Med, and deliver them to the island for 30 pesos, one way. After lunch and a day at the beach another ponga is waiting to take you back. The beaches of Isle Grande offer numerous colorful palapa restaurants serving cold beverages and fresh caught seafood.

Once anchored, Carol and Peter swam to shore to make reservations for dinner. We had heard the restaurants on the island close before dark. They went in to confirm. Initially they were told, “Open until 8:00 pm.” When pressed, they learned the restaurants actually close at 5:00 pm. All of the restaurateurs would be leaving via the pongas before dark and there would be no more dinner.

The Mexicans are extremely reluctant to disappoint the tourists. They will always tell you “Yes” until they are forced to tell you “No.” They try so very hard to accommodate us.

One at a time we “showered” in the cockpit. We dinghied to shore, selected an inviting beach side palapa and enjoyed an early dinner of fish tacos and jumbo shrimp grilled with garlic.

As reported, the island was deserted by 6:00 pm. Not a soul remained behind. The pongas, too, had gone home to Ixtapa. Only we and three other sail boats anchored in the bay remained.